The Spookier Side of Disneyland

09 Wednesday Oct 2013

Posted by Stefanie Van Aken (RSMLVTravel) in Disney, Fun, Travel Inspiration

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Disney, Family Travel, Instagram Travel Thursday

Fall in Las Vegas is 90 degree weather, leggings, UGGS, and Pumpkin Spiced Lattes. It’s also the perfect time for Nevada Residents to take advantage of the Nevada’s Day holiday with a fabulous Fall trip to Disneyland in Anaheim, California, to celebrate the changing of the seasons.

All through the month of October, Disneyland gets spookier! Disney Villains running amuck, Mickey and pals dressed in costume, Halloween treats and pumpkin decorations galore. Even the rides get all gussied up in their Halloween finest. Space Mountain turns into a Ghost Galaxy complete with creepy music and ghoulish space creatures appearing from nowhere. Tower of Terror delights with frights from a “supernatural” event that took place there on Halloween night in 1939. And, of course, my absolute favorite, the Haunted Mansion decked in Nightmare Before Christmas with Jack Skeleton and Sandy donning their Santa and reindeer costumes.

Don’t forget the parties! Disney knows how to get the spirits moving with the new Mad T Party’s, “Dead Man’s Party” at California Adventure, and who can forget Mickey’s Halloween Party at Disneyland! My family had a great time at the Mickey’s Halloween Party last year dressing up in their costumes and trick or treating with all the characters. Some of their favorite experiences were Mickey’s Cavalcade, where the characters parade through the pack in their Halloween costumes, Halloween Screams fireworks display, and the dance parties throughout the park.

Here are some other great reasons to attend the Mickey’s Halloween Party:

The special opportunity to play in Disneyland for three hours before the party starts

Trick or Treating – candy and healthy treats - in the ultimate Disney neighborhood

The “Halloween Screams” fireworks spectacular, hosted by “Master of Scare-omonies” Jack Skellington (presented exclusively for guests of Mickey’s Halloween Party)

“Mickey’s Costume Party” cavalcade featuring some favorite characters, performed twice nightly

The Cadaver Dans ghoul quartet, performing Halloween-themed tunes aboard a drifting graveyard-themed raft on the Rivers of America in New Orleans Square and Frontierland

Dance parties, where guests will “boo-gie” to lively music

An opportunity for everyone in the family to attend the park in costumes

Photo locations with popular Disney and Pixar Pals, and Disney Villains

Nearly all the favorite Disneyland rides and attractions, plus Haunted Mansion Holiday and Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy

Complimentary parking for one standard-size vehicle

Tickets to Mickey’s Halloween Party purchased in advance are $59 most days, while tickets purchased on the event days are $67. All tickets to Mickey’s Halloween Party on Wednesday, Oct. 30, and Halloween Night, Thursday, Oct. 31, are $74. Mickey’s Halloween Party is a non-smoking event. Smoking will be permitted in the Esplanade outside the Disneyland Main Entrance.

For more information about Halloween Time at Disneyland Resort, see www.disneyland.com/halloween. This site will be updated with frightfully fun details.

If you think your little ones might get too spooked, don’t worry, there is plenty for them to do, too, like the Monsters U Dance Party, Pirates League and the Halloween Carnival at Big Thunder Ranch.

OK- so exciting news for Nevada residents- Friday, October 25th, is the observed holiday for Nevada’s Day. Which means 3-day weekend, and the Mickey’s Halloween Party will be happening that night! If you are apart of the Clark County School District, you will also get the Thursday before off for a Staff Development Day, allowing for a 4-day weekend, October 24-27!

As if you needed more convincing…I’m sharing some of my favorite Fall photos from Halloweentime at Disneyland from my Instagram account. #RSMLVDisney

Join the other fabulous hosts of Instagram Travel Thursday on Skimbaco Lifestyle to discover some fantastic travel posts, images and tips on using Instagram. One of my favorite new travel sites is written by Leigh Hines of Hines-Sight . I have enjoyed following her luxury adventures through the South, a place on my travel bucket list, and following her on Instagram at @hinessightblog.

Disclaimer: Though I do work with Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts occasionally for blogger and media events, this post is not sponsored by Disney. I attended the Mickey’s Halloween Party as a blogger last year, but was not able to attend this year.

Disney’s Newest Princess Sofia the First on DVD

13 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by Stefanie Van Aken (RSMLVTravel) in Fun

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Disney, family

Meet Sofia. She was just a girl in the village doin’ alright, then she became a princess over night when the King met her mother and swept them away to live in a castle and a storybook world in Enchancia. Now she is working on how to do “royalty right,” as Sofia the First. My family was selected to screen the new DVD available in stores on September 17th. At first, I wasn’t so sure my twins would be into the series, having it be about a princess after all, so thought I would be watching it with my 7 year old daughter. How incorrect I was. My twins love the entire Disney Jr. Playhouse series– all of them Special Agent Oso, Handy Manny, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Doc McStuffins, and of course the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Not only do they adore all the characters, but they also love to sing along. And, I’m not kidding when I say they totally get into it- arms up, dancing, shouting back at the TV, they love all of it. Including Sofia the First. The photo below is a bit grainy, but it is the boys at the new Playhouse Disney Jr. at California Adventures in Anaheim, California. They were the groupies of the show, treating every act like they were rockstars!

What is so great about this particular DVD release is the short film addition from Frozen. The boys laugh aloud at the moose. They think he is just hysterical. And, the animation is pretty cool. Which of course, gets me excited to see the animated film this November when it comes out. There is also a Sofia dress up doll kit that my daughter snatched up right away and began putting together on her desk. Immediately I felt like the whole family was involved in the Sofia the First DVD.

Here is the synopsis:

Your favorite little princess-in-training returns for more music, majesty and magical fun, so get ready to have a ball with Sofia the First! Becoming royalty overnight is every girl’s dream, and Sofia is eager to prove she can be a true princess. Visit an enchanted circus, meet a pet dragon and soar through desert skies with Sofia and Amber on a magic carpet ride! But when their high-flying adventure veers off course, it’s special guest Princess Jasmine to the rescue with inspiring advice about trying new things, staying strong and trusting yourself. Sparkling with extraordinary song, unforgettable characters and thrilling surprises, Ready to Be A Princess opens the door to a whole new world of kindness, helping others and being the best you can be!

The dvd itself has 5 different episodes and features cameos from some of your favorite Disney Princesses like Jasmine. The episodes explore everyday experiences like honesty, loyalty, courage, independence, compassion and grace, characteristics of a true princess, and depicts them in a way children can relate. As a mother, I’m often struggling with how to teach my children how to posses these qualities and understand why they are important to practice. The episodes on the DVD certainly help as a guide in some of the intangible parenting issues. There is one episode in particular, “A Royal Mess,” where Sofia takes the blame for an accident her brother James caused. Common sense gets you thinking, “wow, that’s really sweet she did that for her brother,” then as the story goes on, the lesson begins to hit as to why that is really not a good thing to do. I love that story because I know with four children, something like that is bound to happen, if it hasn’t already.

As usual, the voice casting is terrific as only Disney can do. I love trying to guess the actors to the voices, but sometimes I need a cheat sheet:

Ariel Winter (ABC TV’s “Modern Family”) as Sofia, Sara Ramirez (ABC TVs “Grey’s Anatomy”) as Queen Miranda, Wayne Brady (TV’s “Let’s Make A Deal”) as Clover & Tim Gunn (TV’s “Project Runway”) as Baileywick

The episodes available on this DVD:

1- “A Royal Mess”

2- “The Shy Princess”

3 – “Blue Ribbon Bunny”

4 – “The Princess Test”

5 – “Two To Tangu” (Jasmine Episode)

Take a trip to Enchancia with Sofia the First and see what being a true princess is all about! You can learn more about Sofia the First by visiting the Disney Junior Website.

Run Time: Approx. 110-minutes

Rated: TV-Y

Aspect ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen (Enhanced for 16×9 Televisions)

Sound: 2.0 Dolby Digital

Languages/ English, French & Spanish

The Chef’s Table at Walt Disney World’s The Contemporary Resort

01 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by Stefanie Van Aken (RSMLVTravel) in Fun

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Disney, Food

Next week, my daughter and I will be heading to the Disney Social Media Moms conference at Walt Disney World. It is not our first time to the magical place. Last June, I was invited to learn more about the Golden Oak Resort Homes at Disney World, and was also invited to bring my children. We had a blast! It was our first time ever going to the park. Of course, momma still had some work to do, which meant a few magical moments of her own to experience. One being a special dining experience at The Contemporary Resort, where we will be staying during the conference.

I wanted to share some photos with you from our event. We were not told where we were going, but followed the crowd into what looked like a behind the scenes mechanical area. A few quick turns to the right, and we found ourselves in one of the kitchen’s of the hotel, with beautiful decor lit up all around us. Turns out, Chef Joe was about to rock our world with a unique dining experience along with wine and beer pairing, straight from Disney’s own vineyard of course, for each course.

Walt Disney World Resorts – The Contemporary

Though amusement parks are not necessarily known for their culinary delights, I have to admit, every meal I ate at the Walt Disney World Resort, either on my own or set up through the press trip, was delicious. My mom, one of the pickiest eaters I know, was even raving about how great the food was from Epcot to the Hoop-dee-do Musical Review at the Fort Wilderness Resort. The Chef’s Table experience at The Contemporary was no exception. Take a look at my photo journal below and tell me what you think.